Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Transport Minister Antony Raju has put forth an interesting proposition to employees of KSRTC, the state's transport carrier.
The proposition is this: help the debt-ridden carrier tide over its current financial difficulties by boosting its income.
In return, Raju offers this: timely payment of salaries.
"The salary will be made available to the employees on the first day of each month," Raju said after inaugurating a slew of new improvements at the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) headquarters here.
The minister was speaking at a function held to distribute cash awards to employees who worked hard to achieve record daily fare collections.
The announcement, which came just a day after he revamped the state's transport options ahead of the Sabarimala pilgrimage, pointed to a reform in the affairs of the often-embattled KSRTC.
The state carrier and its employees have been at loggerheads with each other over the perpetual delay when it came to disseminating salaries.
Even with help from the state government, KSRTC had often found it hard to break even.
The long COVID years, which saw little or no travel, added to their troubles.
However, things are back on track, or so the minister implied. Raju said that "big and ambitious projects that will make the whole KSRTC proud are underway".
He also lauded the employees for sticking it out all these wane months.
"The employees, the people, the media. They all want KSRTC to succeed, and succeed we definitely will," Raju exhorted.
He also clarified that the KSRTC's aim is not to make money, but to provide state-of-the-art, yet affordable transport options to the public.
If this can be facilitated with our own income, then "there's nothing like it," Raju said.
The Kerala government has helped sustain KSRTC all these years, the minister reminded everyone at the function.
"Through the COVID years, and even when fuel prices were hiked, the government had our backs," Raju said.
"The employees realize this. It's no wonder then that they are the most sincere of the lot when compared to other RTCs in the country. Our employees are our strength," the minister added.
He urged all to work hard so that the public transport carrier can register at least Rs 8 crores of income each day.
The minister also dismissed concerns that the newly-introduced SWIFT services would eat into KSRTC's share.
"That won't be the case. In fact, profits earned by SWIFT will be availed to improve KSRTC even further," Raju said.
Cash awards to employees
Transport minister Antony Raju felicitated KSRTC units and employees who helped the state public transport carrier register its record daily fare collections.
KSRTC registered Rs 8.40 crore as daily revenue with 3,941 buses on September 12, 2022.
Cash awards and citations were presented to all who played an instrumental role to achieve this feat.
Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Vellarada units bagged Rs 1 lakh each, while 34 other units received Rs 25,000 each.